Munkar: A weak report opposing a reliable report

Understand the attribution difference in the source example. Read the bilingual lesson for Munkar: A weak report opposing a reliable report and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. In this lesson

Attributing a statement to the Prophet ﷺ differs from reporting it as Ibn ʿAbbās's statement. This is the difference in the example. It will help explain munkar: a weak narrator's report opposing a thiqah—a reliable narrator's report.

2. The definition of munkar

A weak narrator's report opposing a reliable narrator's report is called munkar. • The narrator is weak. • The report opposes a reliable report. 1. Weak: weakness here concerns transmission, not physical strength.

3. An attribution example

مَنْ أَقَامَ الصَّلَوٰةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَوٰةَ وَحَجَّ الْبَيْتَ وَصَامَ رَمَضَانَ وَقَرَى الضَّيْفَ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ (Tabarani: 12692) Meaning: Whoever establishes prayer, gives zakat, performs Hajj to the House, fasts Ramadan and entertains the guest will enter Paradise. This version attributed to the Prophet ﷺ is studied here as an example of munkar.

4. The relevant transmission sequence

• Ḥabīb ibn Ḥabīb narrated from Abū Isḥāq. • Abū Isḥāq narrated from al-ʿAyzār ibn Ḥurayth. • Al-ʿAyzār ibn Ḥurayth narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās. • In this version, the report from Ibn ʿAbbās is attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. This is the relevant portion of the chain, not the complete chain.

5. Marfūʿ and mawqūf

• A report attributed to the Prophet ﷺ is marfūʿ here. • A report presented as a Companion's statement is mawqūf here. The other narrators, apart from Ḥabīb ibn Ḥabīb, transmitted this as Ibn ʿAbbās's statement. This is the mawqūf version. 1. Ibn ʿAbbās: the Companion ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās is meant.

6. Why this version is munkar

Al-Haythamī described Ḥabīb ibn Ḥabīb as weak. His report here opposes the other reliable transmission: the others reported Ibn ʿAbbās's statement; he attributed it to the Prophet ﷺ. • The mawqūf report stopping at Ibn ʿAbbās is maʿrūf here. • The marfūʿ version attributed to the Prophet ﷺ is munkar here. Abū Zurʿah also called it munkar and explained that it is mawqūf from Ibn ʿAbbās.

7. Not every marfūʿ report is munkar

Marfūʿ identifies whom a report is attributed to; the label alone does not establish soundness. Here the reason is not simply attribution to the Prophet ﷺ, but a weak narrator opposing reliable transmission. Likewise, being mawqūf alone does not make every report maʿrūf.

8. Summary

• Under the taught definition, a weak narrator's report opposing a reliable report is munkar. • In the example, others reported Ibn ʿAbbās's statement; Ḥabīb ibn Ḥabīb attributed it to the Prophet ﷺ. • Here mawqūf is maʿrūf and marfūʿ is munkar; this is not a universal rule for those labels.

Practice questions

Question 1

When weak and reliable narrators transmit opposing reports, whose report is munkar?

  • The reliable narrator's
  • The weak narrator's
  • Both

Question 2

Every report becomes munkar merely by being marfūʿ.

  • True
  • False

Question 3

Match the attribution in this example with its label.

Question 4

What explains the munkar classification in the example?

  • The weak narrator attributed it to the Prophet ﷺ against the reliable report.
  • Hospitality was mentioned alongside Hajj and fasting.
  • The reliable narrators transmitted Ibn ʿAbbās's own statement.

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